Hey guys, i was wondering what types of exercises would help improve sprint speed, and just overall making you lighter on your feet (which would in turn help with stamina, acceleration and cutting). Recently i've been bulking up in the upper part of my body due to the fact that i got a summer job with a sort of landscaping/gardening company which does painting, moving, powerwashing, landscaping etc.. and i felt like i needed to bulk up in the upper body to handle the physical demands of the job. I played a game on the weekend however, and i felt SO slow compared to what i felt last year. I feel really slow in the sprints and accelerations, and overall i can just feel more weight on my legs due to bulking up the upper body. So my question is, what are some ways to train sprint speed and explosiveness
Speed is mainly natural. If you're born fast, you are fast. However squats will work, ladder drills etc. Look it up on internet.
Shuttle runs. Also a big part of sprinting is coordination. Keeping your head down with your right leg parallel to the left arm (and vice versa,) and running on your toes. Like everything else, it's just a matter of practice. As far as natural speed, muscle (as long as you aren't a body builder) won't slow you down, but body fat will.
You're probably slow because you haven't been sprinting. If you spend most of the time doing "slow activities" it's bound to affect your speed. How many sprint sessions have you done in the last month?
Nothing yet, as i said before, i've been working a summer job that requires mainly heavy lifting and such, so upperbody is what i've only had to chance to work out, but why i started this thread was to kind of get an idea of what types of exercises for in the gym in terms of specific exercises (eg. someone said squats), and things i can do outside in terms of running (eg. shuttle runs, maybe plyometrics?)
Box squats, cleans/snatches, dynamic lifts, deadlifts, work on a lot of hamstring exercises as well like barbell thrusts/russian leg curls/glute ham raises.
http://www.soccer-training-info.com/speed_training_program.asp Read anything by Patrick Beith. Google "beith speed" http://www.athletesacceleration.com/about-athletes-acceleration/ Here is one of his. Note the link to more articles at his website at the bottom of the page http://ezinearticles.com/?Soccer-Agility-Drills&id=812394 http://www.soccer-training-info.com/soccer_speed_training.asp This is written for coaches, but it gives an overview of the subject http://www.y-coach.com/speedtrain.html For fast feet-- http://www.ucs.mun.ca/~dgraham/daily_drill.html Spending 15 minutes a day, every day, during your entire playing career on these foot drills will really, really pay off for very little time invested.
Hill sprints! They suck but they're worth it. It might be too late if you're no longer in school but if you can get a couple of sessions in with a track coach just to make sure you're technique is on point it would help. Of course you'd have to actively remember and work on all the critiques and pointers by yourself in the long run.
Alot of things can improve speed and stamina. You need to focus on running mechanics like stride length and foot coordination, as well as the force exerted on each step. For running mechanics I'd suggest doing anything like: sled pulls, bungee running, stair bounds, a-skips. For strength or force exerted each step I'd suggest doing weights and plyometrics. Heavy Deadlifts, Heavy Squats, Jump Squats, Dumbbell (or Kettlebell) swings, Box jumps, split squat jumps, single-leg bounds. All of those lifts will strengthen your lower body but strengthening the upper is also crucial, explosive lifts like cleans and snatch are good, but also doing all lifts as explosively as possible helps. Another drill would be ladder drills, they help with foot coordination. Make sure you study up on running mechanics and such. GL
Most of it you're born with but very few people max out their natural potential for speed. -are you at an optimal weight? All things being equal, who would win a race someone carrying a 20 lb weight or someone who is not? -running form/technique -strength... one must propel one's self forward. But it takes the right kind of strength and the right balance of strength with bulkiness. From a coaching standpoint, I want "soccer speed" not track stars. When Ochocinco tried out for sporting KC what he found out was that his NFL speed was essentially moot in (low level) pro soccer. Speed of play and speed of thought are critical factors I look for. Not enough players become students of the game and think to solve problems on the field. 98% of players try to solve deficiencies in their game with the physical, but it's the "soccer brain" that is lacking. Most teenage players and older believe they know all there is to know about the game, but are sadly mistaken.
Some very good responses here. Being a fitness/strength/speed coach for years now I have a few things I would like to add. First of all I was always very slow and thought that speed was either born or made. I can tell you it is both. I will never run in the 100m in the olympic games, but I have improved and will continue to improve my speed and jumping ability by a lot. Here are my points: -fat is bad, but so is too much muscle in the wrong places when it comes to speed. Most people dont have to worry about too much mass if they are training legs with good exercise choices. In this case it sounds like it may be an issue. Heavy mass up top and lack of strength down low will make change of direction harder. -Strength is important, but so is power, so train both. Strength is the foundation of gains in power. -All exercises can be useful if used properly. Its all about selecting the right tool at the right time for the right person. All exercises previously listed are excellent. -When training for speed, strength, and power you must use long rest intervals. Otherwise you will only improve fitness. -Whoever said you feel slower because you havent "moved" in awhile is correct. Nothing in the weight room can reproduce soccer movements and sprinting. I hope this helps! -
Here's a good video with how to improve running technique and some drills. http://ballskills.wikispaces.com/Practice#x-Running Technique
Weight is weight. It takes as much energy to move 200 lbs of fat as it is to move 200 lbs of muscle. But you're using up more energy moving 200 lbs vs 170 lbs. In a competitive, 90 minute match that makes a big difference at the end of the game. The physique of the top players are very lean. They're muscular but not bulky. Don't just bulk up for the sake of bulking up in soccer, it works against you.
i'm not so sure about this. i mean, excess weight doesn't help, but i would think better muscle than fat. muscle is denser and can contract. i assume you can use muscle to shift your center of gravity, making you more agile and more mobile. i could be wrong.
These very important points had not been made previously (except in the articles I linked previously). In particular wind sprints are not speed training. Spacing out the sprints to allow heart rate recovery makes sprints speed training.
Bulk is not an objective term. It is a subjective term used to refer to someone muscle bound. Strength alone will protect you from injury, but must be useable to benefit athletic performance. That is where power comes in. If you look at a track sprinter, they will usually have more upper body muscle mass than the typical soccer player. Core strength is very important to movement. Maradona was (for a soccer player) built like a fire plug. http://www.squidoo.com/Diego-Armando-Maradona-The-Soccer-Player-Profile Disregarding the pictures of Pele at age 16, he was not slightly built either. http://www.google.com/search?q=pele...FGYrYgQf4rfX9BA&ved=0CB8QsAQ&biw=1007&bih=581 Professional soccer players look lean because they generally have low body fat, like 10% or less for males. For health reasons women must maintain at least 10% body fat so current women players will not look lean.
This is true. More weight also increases the forces involved in moving (simply running imparts three times the body weight of force on each foot everytime it hits the ground). So increased weight also increases the risk of injury. A pound of excess body fat does nothing for you except raise the risk of injury. (I say excess because some level of body fat is necessary for health. No fat at all is bad.) So if a player is 10% overweight (176 lbs for 160 lbs target weight), a reduction of 10% weight will reduce forces on the body by 10% (for our example 16x3=reduction of 48 ft-lbs of force on impact for every running step). Shedding excess fat can make post-match (and post-practice) recovery easier. I just convinced myself I need to lose some weight
There are so many variables in improving speed, such as strength, flexibility, power, form. I think to improve speed, you need to focus on all of these variables. I think the strength aspect has been covered. However, I feel including plyometrics will significantly improve your power, which is what we are really focused on. For flexibility, you can do static stretching at the end of your routines, or AIS at the beginning. Naturally, form is very critical and needs to be practiced regularly.
Weight is weight and fat is fat....here are my brief thoughts. - fat is never good anywhere other than the minimal amount- for soccer, for nfl linemen and sumo wrestlers its different story -muscle as long as it serves a positive role in movement is good and it also depends on how it was developed. Cyclists have big muscular legs but they are slow twitch based on how they develop them. Olympic lifters have big legs too but they are purely for power, not endurance. Soccer need both. Some of this muscle gain will happen based on position played, genetics, eating habits, etc so its very complicated. -too much muscle on upper in my opinion serves no use for soccer other than putting more load on the legs. Even the strong guys like Drogba, Eto, Edgar Davids, they were super lean up top. No fat. Pele was very lean. MAradona is a different story all together- a genetic freak, and a genius. -Basically, muscle developed with strength and power training and just playing soccer in the glutes, hammies, quads, calfs, and legs in general with good exercises that will help propel you and you maintain mobility is a good thing. Most soccer players need more glute strength and need to lengthen the quads. More info about all of this can be found here: www.empoweredathletes.com
Add to that insufficient hydration, and you have the most common problems. Two of those problems should never be (insufficient hydration and flexibility). But I confess my quads right now are too tight. It due to my bad habits. I need to add time for some static stretching during cool downs.
Atlhough I am not suggesting a work out like the others, which are some good responses btw. I highly recommend a good warm-up (not just a jog around the field) such as shuffles, quick leg movement, high knees, and lunges. Followed by a thorough stretch. Remember to focus stretching your Quads and most importantly your hamstrings. You will be surprised by how a good warm-up and a stretch can impact your game. Not only are you faster but there are other benifits as well. Looser Hamstrings allow the arch when you kick to be bigger, making for a powerful and long shot. It's the little things you do that count. About 95% of your speed is natural, you are trying to push yourself to gain that 5%. And if you don't notice a change, don't quit, you can't expect to run hard for a month and increase your speed dramatically. You may be gaining milliseconds and may not be noticing it.
-I thought in general hamstrings are a weak point in most athletes today? I could be wrong, it's just something I have in my head and I'm not sure where it's from. -You can also increase your soccer speed by reading the game better and becoming technically more efficient. I think players overestimate their understanding of the game... there's always so much more to learn. I was observing a D1 coach this past weekend at his ID camp and and he yells at this kid who is 6'4" 16 year old, "This kid (5'8") is kicking your ass because you're a mental midget and he understands the game more than you do!" Food for thought.
Update: I trained with a former Israel International player and we talked a lot about speed and attacking with speed. He told me two things. 1. To breathe through my nose and releasing through the mouth. If you don't do that already, it helps intake more oxygen allowing for longer sprints and maybe even faster ones. He also mentioned how adrenaline can increase your speed suddenly sometimes and to get pumped up before a game. 2. To train he told me to run with leg weights on and to walk to the school or anywhere you go wearing weights under your jeans. This causes your legs to get used to resistance, making them stronger and powerful.